Sport

First published
in Sport
Last updated
by Nick Gentry, Crystal Palace FC reporter

Jason Puncheon is refusing to take survival for granted as Crystal Palace travel to Goodison Park full of confidence after recording a third straight victory over relegation rivals Aston Villa.

Puncheon scored his third goal in a week to take the Eagles to 37 points, all but securing his boyhood club’s Premier League survival. But the SE25 winger is staying grounded ahead of a tough trip to Everton on Wendesday.

He insisted: “I don’t look at it like me being the man of the moment or anything like that. “It is about the team and today was a great team effort.

“You could see going into the last ten minutes Jules was making crucial saves and the guys were making important blocks.

“We knew it would be the sort of game where we had to work our socks off to get anything and we did that.”

Puncheon may have been the man to grab the winner but the 1-0 final score could have been more convincing had Cameron Jerome not fired against the woodwork from close range early in the second half with the game still goal-less.

The winger added: “We had the best chances with Cameron Jerome hitting the bar and me hitting the post, so I think we deserved it.”